Urban African American

Imagine coming home to find a farewell note, an empty refrigerator, a disconnect notice from the electric company, and an eviction letter giving you 30 days to vacate the premises - all without a job to fall back on. Well, that's what happened to Africa Evans, a shy, insecure woman without a backup plan. From one bad choice to another, Africa leans on love as an escape from her dilemma. But for this girl from da hood, tough love may prove detrimental to her well-being.

In Compton, California, 10 Black riders on horseback cut an unusual profile, their cowboy hats tilted against the hot Los Angeles sun. They are the Compton Cowboys, their small ranch one of the very last in a formerly semirural area of the city that has been home to African American horse riders for decades. To most people, Compton is known only as the home of rap greats NWA and Kendrick Lamar, hyped in the media for its seemingly intractable gang violence. But in 1988, Mayisha Akbar founded the Compton Jr. Posse to provide local youth with a safe alternative to the streets.

Imagine this… You've planned everything perfectly for your sixth anniversary, hoping to make it a special day. But then your beloved stands you up, leaving you heartbroken and alone at home. Later, your best friend calls with some shocking news—she saw your boyfriend with another woman in his car while she was stopped at a traffic light. In a fit of anger, you grab your trusty bat and arrive at the scene to take out your anger on his car—only to realize later that it wasn't your boyfriend's vehicle after all. The owner happens to be a gorgeous gangsta, and he is pissed.

Best-selling street lit author Meesha Mink closes out the Real Wifeys series with Hustle Hard. "Suga" Alvarez cares about two things: making money and loving Dane. But when the Feds bust Dane for loan sharking, Suga must decide if she’s going to stand by her man and take over his business or kick him to the curb. On top of all that, she finally learns the truth about her father’s past and discovers a secret that will bring things to a head with her former best friend, Luscious.

Tia, Ton'ya, and Tammi are not only making moves in the game, but they're doing it in the bedroom too - and anywhere they need to get what they want. Tia is quick with her razor-sharp mouth, and she carries an equally sharp razor to slice a throat if need be. Ton'ya is loyal to a fault but will fight back if threatened. Tammi is the brains of the operation. They have collected more bodies than a Manhattan hooker working the lower East Side. What happens when the heart gets in the way of making money?

James is days away from being married when he learns his fiancé Raquel has been keeping an explosive secret. Humiliated and with his reputation on the line, he sets out to destroy Raquel. The bride-to-be strikes back with a blow so intense it leaves James defenseless, with his life spiraling out of control.

Urban Books' popular Girls from da Hood series continues its gritty street drama in this twelfth installment, featuring urban fiction superstar Treasure Hernandez and rising stars Katt and Paradise Gomez. Honey has been working them streets for El-Jihad, selling his wares and keeping up her end of the bargain. Strawberry has been a rather lucrative ho for Larry "Sir" Smalls; however, she's been at it for a minute, and it is starting to have an effect on her mind and body. Jackie spent 15 years in the state pen for stabbing the fool that had the audacity to put his hands on her.

Milan Brooks, a fashion buyer with a chip on her shoulder, has been through her share of cheating, disrespectful men. In most people’s books, she’d be rated a true dime, but she still hasn’t been lucky enough to find a loyal man. When a chance encounter with a childhood friend turns into a promising relationship, Milan thinks things might be different this time. Unfortunately, her younger sister steps in with plans of her own.

Follow the highs and lows of Cha, Goldie, and Red, who come together for fun, laughs, and sometimes treachery in Long Beach, California. For these three ladies, survival was always about getting over by using lies, deceit, and sex. But when a plan goes dangerously wrong, Cha and Goldie take a step back out of the life.

Big, bold, and beautiful are three adjectives that describe Erika to a tee. Named after her mother’s favorite soap opera vixen, Erika Kane is self-assured, headstrong, and opinionated. But she’s also unlucky in love. Whenever Erika thinks she’s found everlasting love, it always ends up being short-lived - literally. She has three dead husbands to prove the point, and it’s earned her the title “The Black Widow”. But just when Erika is about to give up on true love, she learns that, just like in the soaps, love sometimes shows up when you least expect it.

Heir to the infamous DeLuca drug cartel fortune, Angel DeLuca walked away from it all for a normal life - until a wrenching betrayal shattered his belief in anything but saving his family's hard-won legacy. He's come back to lead the DeLuca empire - no matter the cost. But his most dangerous rival is the one woman whose fierce determination he can't resist....

Gaza was born and raised in McGregor Gully, one of Jamaica's grittiest housing projects in the slums of East Kingston. Growing up in poverty, he was exposed to robbery and murder at a tender age. In order to stay alive, he quickly adapted to a life of crime. Now he is one of the coldest killers and richest kingpins to ever walk the streets of Kingston. Whoever comes into contact with him and his crew either loves them, fears them, or wants to see them dead. The entrance of Catherine into his life just might change everything.

Out of all the divas at New Day Temple of Faith, Unique has to be the most colorful one - she and her mother, Lorain, that is. Never one to hold her tongue in the name of keepin' it real, it's no surprise that Unique has not been saved all her life. It's safe to say that Lorain wasn't born on the church pew either. Let the church folk tell it, the apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree when it comes to Unique.

What was the pastor of New Day Temple of Faith thinking, approving the creation of the New Day Singles Ministry? Better yet, what were its members thinking when they joined? Doreen, lovingly known as the Church Mother of New Day, thought that when she presented the idea of the ministry to the pastor, it could serve as a foundation to empower, encourage, and enlighten the church's single members.

Mother Doreen has left New Day Temple of Faith in Malvonia, Ohio, and moved to Kentucky to help her diabetic sister. Her sister's husband, a truck driver, pretty much lives on the road. Mother Doreen feels in her spirit that she's needed to intervene on her sister's behalf, especially when the assistant pastor of her sister's church seems to be there just a little bit too much. Her suspicions really grow when her sister's belly does too.

Without Mother Doreen, there never would have been a New Day Temple of Faith Singles' Ministry. So it's bitter-sweet for the single saints she's leaving behind to see her go. Having thought she'd never love again after the death of the only man she'd ever been with in her entire life, when Mother Doreen is proposed to by a pastor from her home town, she can't imagine turning down a gift from God.

In this rambunctious satire, Wallace Thurman, one of the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance, takes his fellow artists and critics to task. The setting is a buzzing apartment building in 1930s Harlem, where avatars for the likes of Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Countee Cullen, and Thurman himself come together to push past old boundaries and test out new ideas. But the heat of this collective energy soon threatens to consume them all, as wild parties, jealous rages, and intellectual conflicts turn the literary circle into an out-of-control hothouse of personal drama.

"Urban School Dynamics: Understanding Black Student Behavior" delves deep into the intricate mosaic of influences, challenges, and aspirations that shape the actions and choices of Black students in city schools. The urban educational landscape, with its unique challenges and dynamics, often amplifies the struggles faced by students. Within these walls, Black students, shaped by a myriad of socio-economic, cultural, and personal factors, navigate their educational journey.

Chasing money is all Chloe has ever known. Just when she thinks she’s got it all, times get tight, and her body is put to work in the bedroom. Between sexin’ married men for hire and searching for the man who would get her out of the game, her life is shattered - and then her cousin Oshyn pulls in a drug dealer with deep pockets. Oshyn knows her conniving cousin would do anything to walk in her shoes, so she flaunts glamorous gifts and icy diamonds, given to her by new love, Brooklyn Jones. Chloe resorts to desperate measures when she can’t steal Brooklyn from Oshyn.

Tanya Jackson works at the Camden Food Bank, and this year is like no other; donations have dried up, and hope is fading due to the pandemic. A phone call to CFB's biggest donor one afternoon and fate has reconnected Tanya to someone she longed for for a long time.